Hello
Welcome to the FLOAT-YOUR-PIGMENT
Newsletter #104, National Shows
Last summer it dawned on me that I had not entered into any juried art competitions in a very long time. I was working as an illustrator and teaching watercolors and not painting a great deal of finished works of art unless they were commissions. Things have changed these last couple of years and I am now getting back into the fine art business and that means it's time to start entering shows again. I
had entered TWSA last year but didn't get accepted, this year was a different story and I was accepted into this years show.
I have been asked by a few people about what I think of juried shows and how they judge. This week the newsletter will answer a few of those questions about these shows.
The painting above is the work that got accepted into TWSA back many years ago when I was awarded my TWSA signature membership. The portrait below also was
accepted into a juried show. Do you want to try and get into the National Watercolor Society's exhibition in October.... Prospectus is HERE
Good luck! David
Yes to
Class at the Civic Center in Libertyville on May 4th
Yes to Class at The Studio in McHenry on May 6th
National Juried Exhibitions |
A couple of weeks ago I received my AWS (American Watercolor Society) catalog of this years New York show and I was astonished at how beautiful the show was. AWS is one show that I have never entered and I was going to enter last year but was on a workshop in Greece and totally forgot about entering. I did become an associate member so I would get the sign up form,
the catalog and a reduced rate for entering but hopefully I won't forget this year.
Many students ask me about what they should enter into a juried show and what do I think about how a judge picks the works. Two very good questions but only one of them I have a good answer for.
- What should I enter into a juried show?
The best and shortest answer to this question is.... enter your best work.
Don't try and guess or try
to figure out what a judge will pick based on what kind of paintings that juror paints or what seems to be picked at other shows. I have judged many many shows and I can only speak for my own judging experience that I look for works that are the best works. How can I tell which are the best works, I go around the entire show at a walking pace and look for the wow factor first. I only stop a bit when I see a painting that catches my eyes. You know the work, it's amazing and you look at these
paintings with amazement. So this tells me that you should enter your best work, your work that amazes you the artist, that painting you did that you can't believe you painted, that's the piece you want to enter.
- How important for an artist is entering these shows?
When you finally feel like you have some good work that is a good time to enter these shows. Why, because they are good for you in many different ways. It will give you a feeling of
accomplishment if you get accepted and if you don't get accepted it will drive you to paint more and get better.
If you win an award, it is something you can put on your bio. You get to met other people that have your same interests and they are your peers and there is always so much to talk about. - Does it cost much to enter these shows and is it worth the cost?
Yes it does cost to enter these juried shows and if you get accepted it costs even
more. It also depends on what show you entered and how close it is to you. If the show is near by where you live then you probably will deliver your piece and that can save you a lot of money. If you are shipping there will be the expense of crating, framing with plexi-glass for your watercolor, postage and handling fee. You will have to figure out if all these expenses are worth it for you by weighing in on if this will get you some recognition and PR. If you win an award that could help out
the expenses, but you can't count on that to help with costs.
- What do you think about entering shows that have all kinds of artwork from oils to jewelry to photographs?
I personally don't like entering or judging these kinds of exhibitions, unless they have separate awards for each category. I like being judged against other watercolors if I enter a watercolor painting. When I judge a show that has all kinds of artwork, from sculpture to photography
to paintings, I feel like I can't do the judging justice.
- Do paintings with people in it or portraits get accepted more?
Yes and no...paintings that are portraits and with people in them usually have that WOW factor to them so you will those types of paintings getting a lot of the awards, but there are also a lot of WOW paintings that get awards that don't have people in them and aren't portraits. Like I said before, enter your best work and don't worry about
what it is, just try and get that WOW factor into it.
- Is bigger better?
This sounds like a strange question but the answer I believe is yes. I do believe size matters when it comes to viewing the work, the bigger it is the more it holds together when it is viewed smaller.
When a judge looks at a work of art on a computer screen the images are all close to the same size, so the ones that are bigger when viewed at a smaller scale really hold together.
Then
when they are viewed in person a large painting is very impressive compared to a small work of art. yes there are wonderful works of art that are small, but when you see a great smaller size watercolor next to a big large watercolor that is also great, which one do you think will win the award.... I'll tell you it's usually the large watercolor because it gives off that WOW factor big time.
This by no means is a bash on small paintings, and I know there are a lot of smaller paintings that
have won a lot of awards, I'm just stating what I have witnessed at many shows, that bigger get more awards.
- What are the bigger watercolor exhibitions?
American Watercolor Society
National Watercolor Society
Transparent Watercolor Society
Adirondacks
National Exhibition of American Watercolors
These above are watercolor competitions, but there are also other medium competitions and also online exhibitions. Then there are watercolor societies that are not as big as an AWS but still are good to enter. You can find those societies HERE
Many of these societies now have you enter on-line with places like...
OnlineJuriedShows
CallForEntry
Good Luck! David
The Painting above is the piece that got accepted into this years TWSA exhibition in Kenosha.
41st Annual Transparent Watercolor Society dinner and exhibition is Saturday June 10th at the Kenosha Public Museum, Wisconsin. More info HERE |
Sign-up ASAP to My Most Important Workshop at Dillman's |
Remember to sign-up for my June 11 - 16th workshop at Dillman's this year. It's the workshop you don't want to miss. To sign-up for the workshop go HERE
I am also doing a BeckerArt Paint Party on the last day of the workshop June 15th that anybody is
invited to attend. For info on the paint party go HERE
If you can't make my spring workshop there is also my Fall workshop at Dillman's...or maybe you want to take both. They will be different in that we will be painting different scenes.
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I'm going to guess that John Salminen has probably won the most awards ever, when it comes to juried watercolor exhibitions. Amazing stuff!
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BeckerArt Brushes Accepted by the Best! 1 1/4" Flat Series 020, #16 Round and a #4 Rigger Holbein Gold, Short Handle, Superior Synthetic Blend Watercolor Brushes. Made to my specifications, which were, The point of the 1 1/4" flat brush
and the # 16 round had to come to a razor sharp point, along with a bounce back to straight action when applying watercolor to paper. The # 4 Rigger had to be the perfect length, the perfect thickness, and the perfect point. Click Here to Purchase |
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For any other info please email me at
david@davidrbecker.com |
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